benefits of being an international student
Nowadays, there is an increasing popularity of Chinese students studying abroad. For many international students, there are many difficulties awaits them, like loneliness, language barrier, and culture conflicts. Indeed, it has never been an easy task to leave our lovely home and to live and study in a completely new environment. However, weighing the benefits and hardships of studying abroad in the long term, it is worthwhile to overcome the difficulties for the overall personal growth. These benefits include the obvious ones like learning new cultures and languages. Most importantly, studying abroad helps us to develop a broader world view and an open mind that tolerant different cultures and people.
Stepping out of our own cultures and people allows us to change the mindset that we used to have and adapt to a new culture. In America, the multi-ethnic culture and groups show a great level of cultural diversity that combines different ideas and traditions across the globe. Not only are we gaining new knowledge, we also develop a bigger picture of the world. To be more specific, the cultural singularity of our original countries prohibit us from understanding novel and liberal ideas and thoughts. In anthropological term, it is called ethnography — stepping out of our shoes and understanding other cultures in their own terms. For example, when we think about family, Chinese international students are not confined to traditional Chinese value of family, but also a western view.
Unlike studying in one’s own country, studying abroad means less constraint of knowledge and thoughts. For instance, in China, the block of some websites and media of foreign countries prohibits students from receiving essential and updated information about world issues. As international students here, we are given greater access to new information and liberal thoughts.
All in all, though leaving one’s hometown and studying abroad means facing new challenges and difficulties, the gain in the future will prove its worth.
